Self-esteem has to do with how you perceive yourself and how compassionate you are toward yourself. It’s not about viewing yourself as perfect or better than others.

Instead, people with high self-esteem accept their flaws, are kind to themselves when they make mistakes, and believe they have worth in the world.

For some, self-esteem doesn’t come naturally. You may find self-compassion and self-confidence challenging to achieve. The first step to developing higher self-esteem is becoming aware of where your insecurities lie and how they manifest.

Typical signs of low self-esteem include:

  • comparing yourself to others
  • judging yourself when you make a mistake
  • engaging in negative self-talk
  • experiencing self-doubt or impostor syndrome
  • worrying about what others think of you
  • avoiding taking risks or trying new things
  • feeling the need to be perfect
  • feeling like you don’t really know yourself

Once you know what you need to work on, you can begin taking steps toward becoming a more confident and self-accepting person. In fact, you can view self-esteem as a skill that you can improve upon and develop. It’s a journey about understanding who you are and what makes you unique.

Once you’re able to develop a true sense of self, what others think of you and the small mistakes you make throughout your life won’t feel so important.

This brief questionnaire is designed for anyone who wants to evaluate their levels of self-esteem. You can use these questions as a way to begin reflecting on your insecurities and the things about yourself you may want to work on.

This test consists of 18 questions about how you view yourself. Your responses will help determine whether you may want to work on building your self-esteem and what your starting place looks like.

If you’re interested in therapy, this quiz is a good starting place for communicating with a therapist about the ways you may have trouble with self-esteem and what specifically you want to work on.

This self-esteem quiz is not meant to be a diagnostic tool. Instead, it’s a resource to begin thinking about your self-esteem levels and what your insecurities might look like.

You may not have realized that some of your thought patterns or behaviors may be linked to lower self-esteem.

In the case of a low score, you may consider talking with a mental health professional to help determine the next best steps for you.